Random House and Borders Australia are turning a new page in literary innovation with the introduction of what they’re calling the world’s first ‘chain novel.’ Based on a concept by Pandora which used WEbook to create a community-sourced thriller, the chain novel will combine the stories of 28 contest winners to be part of a 30-chapter book, AirBorne, the first and last of which will be written by a 29th author, James Patterson.
The concept is similar to the game many people played as children where you go around in a circle, taking turns creating the next sentence in a group story.
To add to the novelty of AirBorne, the chain novel will be released one chapter at a time to keep readers in suspense. The first chapter will be released online on March 20.
Chain Novels
Random House and Borders Release ‘AirBorne,' A Crowd-Sourced Thriller
Trend Themes
1. Chain Novels - Opportunity for publishers to leverage community-sourced content and release content in an innovative way by releasing a chapter at a time.
2. Crowd-sourcing Collaboration - Opportunity for companies to collaborate with their audience and create innovative products through crowd-sourcing.
3. Interactive Storytelling - Opportunity for companies to engage their audience through interactive storytelling and keep them engaged through suspenseful releases.
Industry Implications
1. Publishing - Opportunity for publishers to leverage community-sourced content and release content in an innovative way by releasing a chapter at a time.
2. Media and Entertainment - Opportunity for media and entertainment companies to create innovative content that engages their audience through interactive storytelling and suspenseful releases.
3. Technology - Opportunity for technology companies to create platforms that enable crowd-sourced collaborative storytelling.